Welcome to TV's midseason mark, which reunites us with a few favorites and introduces us to a handful of new shows hoping to make an impact. USA TODAY television critic Robert Bianco scans the January calendar for highlights.

In 2005, Robert Stevens of Virginia became the first person to go to trial and be convicted under the law. His appeal, to be argued before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, has become a major First Amendment test of whether depictions of animal cruelty can be so vile that they are on par with pictures of child pornography and can be banned.

If you like stories about lions, polar bears and especially sharks stalking their prey in the wild, you can always watch that on the Discovery Channel. But if you prefer a tale about a tenacious corporate animal poised to challenge the kings of television, take a look at the channel's parent company, Discovery Communications, and its kinetic CEO, David Zaslav.

Over the past few days David Lanzman has repeatedly dreamt about his horse, I Want Revenge, starting in Saturday's Kentucky Derby. "I don't sleep much," Lanzman said this week. Lanzman has spent his mornings on the backside of Churchill Downs watching the horse he hopes can be a Derby winner prepare for one of the most storied events in racing.